This is without one of the oddest films I've seen in a while but I found it completely captivating throughout. The main reason for this is the combined talents of the director (Miller), the acting of Carell, Ruffalo, and Tatum, and the juxtaposition of a wealth and class. All mix together well in this movie, as they support each element of each other in some wondrous ways to make a truly remarkable movie experience.
Miller did a great job of directing this movie as he never let the story line or themes get to far ahead of anything but kept everything in balance without preaching or being pretentious. He kept the story line and characters forefront and let them carry the movie. But boy was his direction spot on. There were many scenes that had a horror or thriller element to them where tension was just invading the scene - ultimately nothing happened but I still found myself on the edge of my seat so thick was the tension. And it was justified tension not manufactured tension. I seem to find too many directs today who want to be flashy or edgy that they short change the movie they make because they make themselves a distraction to the story and characters. Miller doesn't do that here as he actually sets scenes up and isn't afraid to just let things play out before cutting. He even shows the production of the movies sets and costume letting them become part of the movie. Looking forward to seeing if he has more good movies inside him.
I know Steve Carell, deserve-ably, got acclaim for his performance but I must say it was the combine talents of all three actors that moved this story along with confidence. Ruffalo and Tatum must also be celebrated as they physically and mentally inhabited the mindset of a wrestler, to some remarkable levels. From their walk and mannerisms I found myself forgetting they were acting much like Carell seemed to have lost himself in his role. All three were a joy to watch acting in this movie and alone would justify a journey into this world.
The themes of wealth and class play big roles in this movie. Each one is explored from different perspectives without ever feeling preachy. These ideas are presented not just from the story but also handled extremely well from the actors and directing. It's common mix of these ingredients that help these themes to be stirred into the movie so they aren't overpowering the story or characters. I've seen a lot of movies where the theme dominates everything because the director is being preachy and more or less yelling at me instead of just letting the story or characters move the theme forward (Avatar is a prime example of this). Despite the fact whether or not I agree with the theme or not - that doesn't matter because if the story and characters are center of the movie I can at least understand the theme without feeling it overbearing to everything else going on.
This movie is worth seeing and largely went unnoticed, despite all the accolades thrown at Carell. This isn't just his movie but a great mixture of talent that make it a movie that needs to be talked about more.
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